07/03/2023 - The series Latente and the short film El último spitfire are among the victors of the leading event aimed at the animation sector, which unspooled in Madrid last weekend

l-r: Daniel Martínez (Deputy Minister for Culture and Tourism of the Community of Madrid), the winners of the 2023 Next Lab Generation and Carlos Biern (director of content and distribution, Kids & Family Division, DeAPlaneta Entertainment) after the awards were handed out

The Spanish projects Latente by Carlos Zaragoza and Aurora Jiménez, and El último spitfire by Renato Roldán, plus Colombia’s LIMBO by Daniel Shambo, have emerged as the winners of Next Lab Generation 2023, an event dedicated to the animation sector, which unspooled as an in-person gathering in Madrid on 3 and 4 March. These winning works will be presented at Annecy’s MIFA 2023, as well as receiving a gross amount of €8,000 in development support, three months of mentoring, plus a travel grant and an accreditation for the French festival. In addition, the jury, made up of Susanna Khachatryan, Marc Aguesse, Dune Blanco and Dan Franke, wished to hand a Special Mention to the animated series Manolitos by Diego Porral and Joaquín Garralda.

Latente is an animated series that invites the viewer on a psychological journey through shared memories and unknown feelings. In it, the death of the protagonist’s partner creates a jigsaw puzzle that must be solved in order to move forward. The team behind it can boast, respectively, extensive careers as a production designer and a visual development artist in animated film. Their names have been listed in the credits of international productions such as the animated musical Vivo, The Emoji Movie, The Tale of Despereaux and the multi-award-winning short film La Noria by Carlos Baena.

Meanwhile, the short El último spitfire portrays the dilemma of a pilot who has never been in combat before. When his convoy is stalked by a phantom fighter plane, he will have to decide whether to abort his mission or to confront this ruthless enemy. Renato Roldán, who was nominated for a Goya Award for Best Short Film for his first work, Semilla del recuerdo, has worked as a character designer, animator and storyboard artist. After racking up many years of experience, he set up his own company (Balieri Studio) and created Fude Samurai, a video game that enabled him to get his foot in the door at King, a firm where he worked as an art director on the Bubble Witch franchise.

The winning trio is rounded off by the Colombian short film LIMBO, which is about the spirit of a man during his descent to hell, a journey that will force him to face up to his sins, learn more about himself and redeem the myriad souls he carries within himself so as not to end up condemned to the underworld. Shambo is a designer who specialises in visual computing and art direction for animation, and he has honed his skills in VR, interactive animation and creative coding.

This workshop, which homes in on how to use disruptive new technologies to improve production processes, wrapped up its third edition by doubling its number of accredited guests (400). It has also included a financial endowment in its prizes and has become a showcase for important announcements relevant to the international audiovisual scene. “In very little time, we have positioned the rendezvous as a key event for the animation sector. It’s an initiative that encompasses a training side, a springboard for new talents, an R&D lab, and a space for debate on the present and the future of creative and production processes,” asserts José Luis Farias, its director.

Next Lab Generation 2023 is sponsored by the Community of Madrid, via the Department of Culture, Tourism and Sport. It is funded by the ICAA as part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan promoted by the European Union, and it has secured sponsorship from the Ministry of Culture, DeAPlaneta Entertainment and Madrid City Council. It is organised in collaboration with Enisa, the Annecy Festival, Weird Market and Accelera Skills.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Next Lab Generation Awards
Latente - Carlos Zaragoza, Aurora Jiménez (Spain) (series)
El último spitfire - Renato Roldán (Spain) (short film)
LIMBO - Daniel Shambo (Colombia) (short film)

Special Mention
Manolitos - Diego Porral, Joaquín Garralda (Spain) (series)

(Translated from Spanish)